Comment on Chemistry is weird
Geodad@lemmy.world 3 days agoOn one side of the battery, it is elemental Lithium.
It exchanges electrons across a membrane with another substantial.
Using water on it is bad because the reaction between Lithium and water evolves Hydrogen gas, which ignites in the fire.
entwine413@lemm.ee 3 days ago
You’re wrong.
Lithium batteries contain little to no elemental lithium. They normally contain lithium cobalt oxide, lithium iron phosphate, or lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide as the anode, and a lithium salt as the electrolyte.
Water is about the only way to put one out because it’s an exothermic reaction, and two out of the three are self-oxidizing.
The biggest danger of a lithium battery getting wet is that it shorts, which can lead to a fire because it goes into thermal runaway. But this can happen if you have one in your pocket with spare change.
shroomato@lemmy.world 3 days ago
A tiny “ackshually” is that there also exist non-rechargeable lithium batteries that have actual elemental lithium in them, which might be adding to the confusion.
entwine413@lemm.ee 3 days ago
Even those aren’t elemental lithium. They use Lithium-iron disulfide, Lithium-thionyl chloride, Lithium-manganese dioxide, and Lithium-sulfur dioxide.
shroomato@lemmy.world 2 days ago
In every one you mention elemental lithium is the anode and whatever second part in the name is the cathode.
youtube.com/shorts/yGDkiUAwxRs